


Dogs are Daichi's best friends

by symphorine



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Dogs, First Meetings, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, also, and because of who i am as a person: suga is ace in this fic, firefighter!daichi & vet!terushima, i don't know don't ask me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 01:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7781746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/symphorine/pseuds/symphorine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“No problem,” Daichi smiled. “Try not to do that again.”</p><p>“Will do,” Terushima hummed. “I was also wondering if I could get your number.”</p><p>Daichi lost all his composure at that and almost choked on air.</p><p>“What?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dogs are Daichi's best friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Smokey310](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smokey310/gifts).



> hey topf! i haven't seen you much lately but i hope you'll have a nice birthday! and that you'll enjoy this, of course
> 
> to everyone else, happy reading too!

Daichi stepped out of his car, careful not to spill the coffee cups in each of his hand, and kicked the door shut.

“Hey,” he said to Suga, who was waiting for him in front of the station.

“Hey yourself,” Suga answered, his eighteen hours long shift leaving a heavy imprint in his voice. “Thanks.”

Daichi nodded and sipped at his own coffee, sneaking a glance at his friend and roommate. Suga often said that he didn’t regret becoming a policeman, but his shifts had become more and more frequent and hectic lately, and Daichi was starting to worry for him. He would come home exhausted, crash on his bed, and get up looking and acting like a robot, ready to go back to work.

“I still have an hour left,” Suga said, like he’d been reading his mind.

Daichi hummed, wondering if he should broach the subject now, when a police cruiser herded another small car into the parking in front of the police station. Ushijima climbed out, and strode toward the car that had parked just in front of Suga and Daichi. He bended over and tapped on the window, then the driver’s door opened and a girl stepped out, her brown hair in disarray.

“Come with me, please,” Ushijima ordered, his tone as calm as ever.

It seemed to placate the girl’s nerves, but she glanced back to her car nervously. Ushijima looked around and saw them standing a few meters away.

“Hello, Sawamura. Sugawara,” he continued, “can you help the man behind come too? I think he’s drunk.”

Suga sighed but made a gesture of acquiescence, and he handed his coffee to Daichi before going to open the backdoor. Daichi saw him frown and exchange a few words with the person inside, too low to be intelligible, and then step back and walk back to him, his worried expression illuminated by the white neon lights of the station.

“It might be more your kind of thinkg,” he shrugged, taking the two coffees. “He seems in a really bad shape.”

“And here I though my work was over for today,” Daichi sighed.

“Sorry,” Suga mumbled, and Daichi stopped him just in time before he tried to rub at his face with two hot coffee cups in his hands.

“I’ll do this and then we’re going home to sleep,” he warned before going to the car himself.

The door was still open, and he poked his head inside, barely able to see anything despite the precinct’s lights.

“Could you please get out?” he tried, vaguely discerning the shape of a person lying on the back seat.

“No, officer, like I said already,” the guy breathed heavily, pausing between almost every word, “I will not step out of the car.”

“I’m not an officer,” Daichi said, reaching for his flashlight. “I’m going to direct a light at you now, okay?”

The person whined lightly, and then a bit louder when the light hit him. He was a man, probably around Daichi’s age, with bleached blond hair and a livid face. Daichi frowned and turned his head lightly, inspecting it.

“Do you have trouble breathing?”

The guy apparently had enough energy to look at him like he was an idiot. Good, Daichi thought. He was having a bad time, but likely wasn’t in too much danger yet.

“Also any trouble with your eyes?” he asked, not sure if the guy’s eyelids looked a bit too big because of the light or because they were puffing up.

“No. Just help me stand up,” he replied, trying to sit up.

He missed the seat and would have fallen had Daichi not been here to stop him. He wheezed and shut his eyelids tight. He tried to blink, but judging from his wince, it was painful. Daichi sighed. He knew what this meant.

“Stay here,” Daichi sighed. “I’ll call an ambulance.”

“What? No!”

“I’m not going to tell my friend here that you smoked pot,” Daichi reassured him, “but you’re reacting very badly and you need medical attention.”

“I didn’t,” the guy started, but apparently deemed the protestation not worth the effort it would cost him. “And Hana?”

“The girl who was with you? I don’t know,” he admitted when the guy nodded. “Just speeding, probably, she looked okay. Stay here,” he instructed once more, though he doubted the guy would run far in his condition.

He switched off his light and stepped away, going back to Suga, who had apparently finished his drink.

“Allergy,” he said curtly. “I’ll call the hospital.”

“Allergy to what?” Suga asked, mild curiosity piercing under the exhaustion.

“Just allergy.”

Suga narrowed his eyes, not fooled, but didn’t press. He obviously didn’t have the energy to deal with it, because it would mean staying and filling a report and asking questions, and all he was thinking about was his bed. He waved, Daichi’s coffee sloshing in his cup.

“What are you going to tell them?”

“Some kind of fruit,” Daichi answered, dialing the number on his phone. “I’ll say he doesn’t remember what it was.”

“He’s done if they test him.”

“He’ll deal with that himself,” Daichi shrugged. “At least I’m buying him tranquility for tonight Can you go get water?”

He waited for Suga to agree, then walked again to the car and leaned in.

“What’s your name?”

“Terushima Yuuji,” the guy mumbled from the seat.

“I’m going to tell the hospital you had an allergic reaction to fruit, but that you don’t know what kind,” he told him slowly, holding the phone away from his mouth. “That won’t hold the minute they test you, but at least for tonight they’ll leave you alone.”

Terushima seemed to try to talk again, but it was mostly a jumbled mess, and Daichi didn’t pay attention. He explained the situation when his call was finally taken, gave the precinct’s address, and Suga came back with a glass of water. They helped Terushima sit up and drink, little by little, and he finished the glass when the ambulance came.

“Ushijima is lecturing the poor girl,” Suga said absently as they watched the paramedics take Terushima with them. “She has not antecedents, and he says she drove fine on the way here.”

“He’s not even going to charge her?”

“Don’t think so.”

“He’s too soft,” Daichi laughed.

“You’re one to talk,” Suga pointed out. “You didn’t have to lie to the hospital.”

Daichi shrugged. It was no secret that he had a tendency to let minor things slip under his radar. He knew the law wouldn’t regard it as such, but he’d felt bad enough already for Terushima. And he wouldn’t say that he and the person he knew had always been entirely clean, either.

“Can we go home?” he asked, taking his cup back.

“ _Fuck_ yes.”

* * *

 

Daichi was pushing the door to the fire station when someone called him. He turned to the sound of his name, but the person was unfamiliar.  It was a young man with blond hair tied up behind his head, showing  off his undercut, and a few piercings on each ear. He looked delighted to have found him.

“You’re Daichi, right?” the guy asked again with a smile.

“Do I know you?”

“I’m Terushima,” the guy answered. “Terushima Yuuji? I didn’t know your last name.”

Daichi  squinted at him. He  remembered that night three days ago, but sleep deprivation had wiped away most of the details, and he had honestly not thought about it again once until now.

“You look better,” he offered, which was true.

“I hope so,” Terushima laughed, “I looked terrible. I _felt_ terrible, too.”

“I’m surprised to see you there. Didn’t you get charged with something?” Daichi questioned.

“Nah. That’s what I wanted to tell you, in the car,” Terushima admitted, a little red in the face for some reason. “I didn’t smoke, I just got some smoke in the face, and next thing I know my throat is on fire and Hana is panicking like mad. Point is,” he added, “there wasn’t anything to find, and since you told them that thing about fruit, I got off clean. So thanks.”

“No problem,” Daichi smiled. “Try not to do that again.”

“Will do,” Terushima hummed. “I was also wondering if I could get your number.”

Daichi lo st all his composure at that and almost  choked on air.

“What?”

“You’re super attractive, man, and you helped me even if you didn’t have to, and the drug thing didn’t seem to put you off, so I wondered if we could get coffee, because you seem like someone I would like.”

Terushima was still a bit red, but he’d said all this without stuttering, in a nonchalant tone. Probably fake, but impressive nonetheless. Daichi blinked a few times, not sure if he was dreaming or not.

“Listen,” he finally managed to articulate. “I’m very flattered, but I don’t know you, or anything about you, and I’m pretty busy, so...”

“Hey, Sawamura!” someone else called from behind.

He turned to see Kuroo in the entrance, leaning against the door with a grin.

“Are you done chatting? We got work to do.”

Daichi turned back to Terushima and pointed at his colleague as if to say that it proved his point. Terushima  was still looking at him.

“Well, if you change your mind, I work at the vet two blocks away,” he said, biting his lip. “You can always come say hi.”

“I’ll think about it. So, well, uh, goodbye,” he said quickly, and operated a strategic retreat into the building, pushing Kuroo in.

He closed the door with force, and tried to ignore Kuroo’s smug expression.

“Who was that?”

“A guy I helped a few days ago,” Daichi answered.

“You should go on that date with him.”

Daichi savagely poked Kuroo in the side, taking satisfaction in the yelp coming from his friend.

“I didn’t ask, and you shouldn’t eavesdrop.”

“But you never tell us about your romantic life,” Kuroo smiled, apparently undeterred by Daichi’s aggression.

“Maybe because there’s nothing to be said.”

“Now that’s just sad. And you could fix that! You just got asked out!”

Daichi sighed and walked around Kuroo, more than ready to start his shift.

* * *

 

“Is he hot?” Suga asked after he told him about the incident that evening, sharing a meal of leftovers.

“Who? Kuroo?” Daichi deflected.

“Terushima. Are you attracted to him? Because if you are, it might at least get you laid,” Suga pointed out.

“Since when do you care about getting laid?” Daichi noted, shifting to a more comfortable position on the couch. “I thought sex wasn’t your thing.”

“Not for me, for you,” Suga corrected him, gathering the last scraps of food on his plate together. “You’ve been tense lately, and I hear that kind of thing helps relieve stress.”

“I still know absolutely nothing about him,” Daichi reminded him. “And you know I’m not a hook-up kind of person.”

“Hence why you should go on the date,” Suga insisted, pointing his chopsticks at him.

Daichi didn’t answer. He got up to put his plate down in the sink and turned on the water, watching as it filled the sink.

“Why are you so invested in my dating life, lately?” he asked as he began scrubbing.

“Because you’re overworked and I don’t want you to live a sad, lonely life,” Suga replied from the couch.

“You work more than me.”

“And I still find the time to go out,” Suga reminded him, “while you stay here alone, probably brooding in your room.”

“Maybe you should try that too, then you wouldn’t be so tired,” Daichi answered, rolling his eyes.

“This is about you, not me,” Suga scolded him. “And I know I’m the best person in your life and you wouldn’t mind spending your days with me, but I might not be free all the time, you know.”

Daichi took a second to understand what it meant, and when he grinned at Suga, his best friend seemed to realize he’d said too much.

“Did _you_ meet someone?” Daichi asked, dishes forgotten in favor of grilling his friend.

“I never said that.”

“You did. Who is it? Do I know them?”

“I’m not telling you unless you go on that date,” Suga countered, bringing his own plate to Daichi.

“You know you’ll give in before I do.”

Suga shrugged with a smile.

“It was worth a try.”

* * *

 

The thing was,  Daichi’s brain didn’t seem to want to forget about Terushima, as much as Daichi would have liked to. He  walked past the vet office every day to get to the fire station, and he caught himself slowing down in front of it after that. Once, he caught a glimpse of blond hair inside, but he wasn’t sure if it was Terushima or someone else,  too embarrassed to watch more and find out .

Neither Kuroo nor Suga helped, teasing him constantly about it, and his only escape was the dog shelter he volunteered at, since he usually spent his few hours there  almost alone, save for the dogs.  He’d wanted to adopt one, after moving out from his parents’ house, but had never gotten Suga’s approval, because his friend, for all his qualities, was afraid of dogs. So Daichi had found another alternative.

He liked working at the shelter, even if it meant less free time, in a way,  and he’d really come to appreciate the lack of people asking him questions there, or at least questions pertaining to his personal life. And dogs didn’t ask for much either, apart from an extra pat on the head from time to time.

Until, of course, he realized one of them was sick, and he had to call a vet. He dug into the desk, knowing that they had the number of the regular one in it, but when he called it, nobody answered. He looked at the dog, a large German Shepherd  who answered to the name of Princess , and her pitiful whines broke his heart.

He called the vet again, but there was no more answer this time, so he started looking at the list of other possible calls to make, until his eyes fell on the address of one of them. He debated with himself for a minute, even though he knew they were the closest, but another look at the dog convinced him.

He dialed the number  while petting her, not sure who he hoped would answer. The voice of the receptionist was that of an old woman, and he tried not to feel disappointed as he explained the situation.

“We’re sending someone, but they may have to bring her back here,” she warned.

“We have everything here,” he assured.

“Then,” she said, before Daichi heard a muffled conversation on the other end of the line, “He’ll be here in ten minutes,” she told him.

“Thank you.”

He hung up and waited, restless but never going too far away from the dog. He startled when someone knocked on the door, and almost tripped over himself to open.

The person behind was Terushima, without piercings but with a pair of large glasses and a case in his hands. Daichi hadn’t prepared for this. Terushima hadn’t seemed like the type to go through the kind of studies necessary for this, and when he’d said he worked at the vet office, Daichi had assumed it was as some kind of assistant or receptionist, not a veterinarian himself. Terushima looked thrown off too, though he recovered quickly.

“You’re the vet?” Daichi asked, confused.

“One of them, yeah,” Terushima replied with a sincere smile. “Nice to see you again.”

“Uh, yeah,” Daichi said. “She’s right there.”

Terushima nodded and adopted a more serious expression as he followed him. The dog was still lying on her side,  and he took his time examining her, whispering soothing noises whenever the pain seemed to be too much.

“It’s probably just an indigestion, so she’ll have a couple of bad day but it should pass,” he declared eventually. “Did she throw up?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, then you need to not give her anything solid to eat in the next twelve hours,” Terushima explained. “You can start feeding her again after, but with little quantities at first. You should also give her a bit more to drink.”

He kept explaining and Daichi nodded fervently, writing it down on a piece of paper for the next volunteer.

“And I’ll come again tomorrow and the day after to make sure she’s okay,” he finished. “Is this time okay?”

“I’m here in the evening for the next week, but I’m sure it will be alright with the person who’s there,” Daichi shrugged.

“Then I’m also giving you my number,” he smiled, taking the pen and paper from Daichi’s hand and scribbling numbers. “Just in case something goes wrong and the office is closed.”

Daichi couldn’t help but laugh at that, the true intent so obvious.

“Could you be _less_ subtle?”

“I can try,” Terushima smiles back. “But I mean it, if she seems to feel worse, call me.”

“Sure,” Daichi agreed.

Terushima lingered for a few seconds, staring at hi m, then seemed to snap back into reality again, and he left. Daichi  looked at Princess and stroked her behind her ears.

“He seems alright,” he whispered.

* * *

 

Suga wasn’t there when he came home, which wasn’t really surprising. Daichi looked at his schedule, pinned on the fridge by a Disney magnet, and saw that he wouldn’t come back until morning, just before he would have to leave for work. He decided against going to the precinct to tell him about Terushima,  because he still had some dignity.

He wished he had had the time to have an emotional debrief with his friend when Terushima swung by the following evening, in the middle of his shift. The other people who had come in had left notes about Princess, and she seemed in a much better condition already when he had arrived. So, really, they didn’t have much to talk about in that regard.

Thus, it was a total mystery to him how they had found themselves still sitting together an hour later, sharing tales of college and coworkers like they’d known each other their wholes lives.

“And then Suga made me swear to film it the next time it happened, which I didn’t, of course, poor Asahi had already enough to worry about,” he concluded.

“Your friends sound like fun,” Terushima remarked. “A little bit like assholes, which I am not in a place to judge, but like fun.”

Daichi thought back to Suga and Kuroo’s incessant teasing about his love life.

“Most of the time,” he agreed.

There was a lull. Most of the dogs were asleep, a few of them snoring, and it was dark already outside.

“I should leave,” Terushima announced with obvious regret. “I’m supposed to open tomorrow.”

Daichi looked at his phone, surprised to see time had flied.

“I should be replaced in a few minutes too,” he said.

He looked up to see Terushima frowning at him in confusion.  Daichi bit his lip, unsure how to keep going.  He could ask him where he lived to see if they could walk back together, at the very least, it would be the perfect time. And h e was pleasant company so far.  But Daichi still didn’t know how to approach the situation, or if he  even was  _really_ interested himself. He hadn’t thought about getting into a relationship any time soon, serious or casual.

“You’ll come tomorrow too?” he finally settled on.

“Yep,” Terushima confirmed. “If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t,” Daichi answered, and at least, it was true.

“Then yes.”

They looked at each other for another few seconds, before a smile stretched Terushima’s lips.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” he stated as he stood up.

He waved him goodbye and then closed the door. Something funny happened in Daichi’s chest, and, well, this might not be a bad idea after all.

* * *

 

He spent the whole day worrying about what he should do. Suga had given him a pep talk the evening before, and Kuroo tried to be actually helpful and give him sound advice, but between the four calls for domestic fire and the five heart attacks or fall down the stairs, he didn’t have a whole lot of time to really say anything. By the time Daichi finally could get out of his uniform and into his own clothes, he was even late for his shift at the shelter. He called on his way there and showed up out of breath, just as the person before him stepped out.

“Oh, there’s someone for you,” the girl told him before almost running away, probably late for something too, because of him.

Daichi didn’t really feel prepared to see Terushima, but he didn’t exactly have the time to find his balance again. He pushed the door open and found him petting Princess with a smile. He had his piercings this time, and Daichi only saw an unfamiliar leather jacket sitting on his chair, no case in sight. Daichi had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t standard protocol to come see the sick pet for something as banal as an indigestion. Princess barked when she saw him and immediately ran up to him, and he felt a little bit better after his very full day.

“Hey,” Terushima called.

Daichi looked up to see that his smile had disappeared,  replaced by jittery hands picking at each other.  Princess was satisfied with the petting and left them alone, trotting out of the room.

“Have you eaten yet?” Terushima asked.

“No, haven’t had the time. Today was really busy,” Daichi explained. “Why?”

He felt a little bit like an ashhole, because he _knew_ why.

“Well, I don’t want there to be misunderstandings, so,” Terushima inhaled, then clasped his hands together. “I was wondering if you’d want to come eat with me after you’re done, and I’d like it to be a date, but if you only want to go as friends, then it’s alright too. And also if you don’t want to at all, I guess,” he added.

He was wringing his hands now, but didn’t look away from him. Daichi bit his lips.

He still didn’t know much about him, but he liked spending time with him, and as cocky as his bluntness had seemed, it was refreshing to have things laid out clearly like this. He was attractive, funny, surprisingly multifaceted, and respectful.

Plus, he was obviously a dog person.

“I’ll be replaced in about an hour,” he finally replied.

Terushima seemed to relax a bit, recognizing that it wasn’t a categorical ‘no’.

“And I’m pretty tired, so I can’t make any promise for good conversation,” he continued, “but going out sounds good.”

“You mean going out together or just going out to eat?” Terushima asked with a hopeful smile.

Daichi hung his head, defeated by the way the expression tugged at his heart. Maybe he should have listened to Suga earlier and gone on that date the first time – not that he would ever tell him.

“Together,” he admitted.

He barely had time to prepare before Terushima jumped on him to give him a tight hug.

“Yes!”

“I’m taking it back,” Daichi laughed, “I don’t want to date an octopus.”

“Better get used to it, I like cuddling,” Terushima grinned.

“Is that an invitation?”

Terushima tightened his hold on him, cocking his head to the side.

“It’s whatever you want it to be.”

Daichi had a good feeling about this.

**Author's Note:**

> so the legislation about drugs is pretty severe and no laughing matter in Japan, as far as i know, but for the sake of this fic let's invoke creative license and say it's a bit more laxist.
> 
> tumblr post is here, likes and kudos always make your author happy, and reblogs help the author!


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